Lock slider for slide fasteners



Jan. 17, 1961 A. M. BROWN LOCK SLIDER FORSLIDE FASTENERS" Filed Feb. 14, 1958 INVENTOR. /4L EXAM D5? M fieaw/v BY W ATTM/VEJ United States Patent LOCK SLIDER FORSLIDE' FASTENERS Alexander 'M. Brown, Couneaut Lake, Pa., assignor to 'Talon,-Inc., a corporation of Pennsylvania FiledFeb, 14, 1958,'-Ser. No. 715,457

4 Claims. (Cl. 24-40514) This invention relates to slide fasteners, and more particularly to an'improved lock slider and pull member therefor.

Various types of locksliders have been heretofore suggested and used for slide fasteners. Whilesome of these have 'been'satisfactor'y for their intended use, "others have been unsatisfactory. It is now common practice to provide trouser flies with slide fasteners for closing'the same and it is preferable that a lock slider of some type be employed on such as fastener application. It is not only desirable that such a slider have a minimum thickness but it should be so constructed that it will not interfere with pressing of the trousers. Inother words, the slider should be as flat as possible and not have any parts projecting thereabove which might tend to be crushed or deformed by the pressing buck during the pressing operation. -Also, it is preferable that such a slider be at least, semi-automatic in its locking operation so'that it will lock with ease when moved to its fully closed position along the fastener and it is to such a slider that the present invention relates.

Accordingly, it is one of the objectsof thepresent invention to provide an improved lock slider for slide fasteners which is semi-automatic in its locking operation and which is substantially flat in its construction and appearance'so as not to interfere with pressingof the garment with which it is to be used.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved lock slider "which consists of a minimum number of parts which can be easily andinexpensively fabri- 'cated and assembled.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved lock slider which is strong and durable in its construction and, at the same time, el'ficient and effective in its use.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved lock slider together with a new and novel pull member therefor which is simple and inexpensive in its construction and attractive in its appearance, and which can be conveniently attached to the slider body.

Various other objects and advantages of this invention will be more apparent in the course of the following specification, and will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, there is shown for the purpose of illustration, an embodiment which my invention may assume in practice.

In these drawings:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a lock slider for slide fasteners constructed in accordance with the present invention,

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the same showing fastener elements of a slide fastener disposed in the slider channel,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of my improved slider, and

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the bottom side of the upper end of the pull member.

ueferr'ing -more particularly to the drawings, the 'improved "slider of the present invention comprises 1 a slider a manner wellknown'to-those skilled in the art.

011 the outerside of the upper-wing 2, there -is arranged centrallythereof a pair of spaced-apart lug.portions8'having transversely-extending apertures 9la1- ranged therethr'ou'gh. On the outer side of each of these lug portions 8, there is arranged preferably a cam surface 10, the-purpose of which will be hereinaft'erdescribed. Between these lug portions 8 there is arranged in the wing 2,a rectangular-shaped aperture 12 which communicates with the sliderchannel 6.

"Also, in'accordance withthe present invention, there is provided a new and novelpull member 13, for manipulating the slider, in the-for'm of a bail which is preferably made of-wire. Thisbail-like pull member has a pair of spaced-apart, preferably resilient leg portions 14 with each having a transversely extending trunnion portion 15 arranged on the end thereof which are disposed in the respective apertures 9 in the lug portions 8 so as to be pivotally 'attached thereto and with the leg portions 14 thereto by curling the marginal edges around the respective legpo'rtions, asat 17. There is carried by thisplatelike member-16am elongated, yieldable, locking tongue 18 having-a-locking prong 19 arranged on the-extreme end thereof. "This plate like member 16 is positioned substantially centrallybf the leg portions 14, and the locking tongue 18 *extends 'up therebetween and'betweenthe lugs 8'with the 'free end thereof extending through the aperture 12 so that the locking prong -1'9 carriedthereby 'will be disposed in the slider channel- 6 when the pull member 13 is disposed in one position against the slider body.

I-Iaving d'es'cr'ibed the'construction of the improved lock slider of my invention, the operation and function thereof will now be described. When the pull member 13 is disposed in its fully locked position on the fastener elements, as shown in the full lines of Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, it will be seen that the locking prong 19 carried by the resilient tongue portion 18 will be positioned in the space between any two adjacent fastener elements 7, as more clearly shown in Fig. 2, so as to prevent unintentional movement of the slider along the fastener elements. In such position, it will be seen that nothing protrudes above the slider body with the exception of the lugs 8 and that the pull member 13 lies perfectly flat against the slider body.

In the event the pull member 13 is disposed in its other extreme position extending upwardly, as shown in the broken lines of Fig. 2, it will be seen that the locking prong 19 extends slightly above the lugs 8. However, in the pressing operation, this prong 19 will be forced down between the lugs 8 by the pressing buck without deforming the same and damaging the locking mechanism, due to the yieldability of the locking tongue 19 which is a part thereof and, furthermore, it is protected by the lugs 8 which are capable of withstanding the force of the pressing buck.

It will be noted that when the pull member 13 is moved to a vertical position substantially perpendicular to the slider body to manipulate the slider, the leg portions 14 of the bail-like pull member will be sprung apart by the cam surfaces on the sides of the lugs 8. When the pull member is no longer grasped by the operator, it will be seen that it will tend to be moved to its locked position flat against the slider body by the action of the cam surfaces 10 which have preloaded the resilient leg portions of the pull member thereby providing a semi-automatic locking action. In other words, the pull member tends to be snapped or flipped into locking position due to the co-operation of the cam surfaces 10 with the resilient leg portions 14.

As a result of my invention, it will be seen that there is provided a new and novel lock slider for slide fasteners consisting of only three parts which can be inexpensively and conveniently fabricated and assembled so as to provide a neat, attractive and serviceable lock slider, and which slider can be easily manipulated and at the same time, provide an effective locking arrangement on the fastener elements.

While I have shown and described an embodiment which my invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that this embodiment is merely for the purpose of illustration and description, and that other forms may be devised within the scope of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A slider for slide fasteners comprising a body member having a pair of spaced-apart wing portions connected at one end by a neck portion so as to provide substantially a Y-shaped channel therebetween, a pair of spaced-apart lug portions arranged on one of said wing portions and extending outwardly therefrom, said wing portion having an aperture arranged therein between said lug portions communicating with said channel, a bail-like pull member having a pair of spaced-apart resilient leg portions, a transversely extending trunnion portion arranged on the end of each of said leg portions pivotally attached to the respective lug portions, an independent reinforcing member extending between said leg portions so as to bridge the same and having the marginal edges thereof curled around said opposed leg portions for holding them in their proper spaced relation, and an angularly arranged elongated yieldable locking tongue extending outwardly from the end of said reinforcing member which extends between said lug portions, through said aperture and into said slider channel in one position of said pull member.

2. A slider for slide fasteners, as defined in claim 1, including a cam-like portion arranged on the outer side of each of said lug portions with which the leg portions of said pull member are adapted to co-operate, said cam-like portions adapted to move and maintain said pull member against the outer surface of said wing substantially parallel thereto due to the resiliency of said leg portions.

3. A slider for slide fasteners comprising a body member having a pair of spaced-apart wing portions connected at one end by a neck portion so as to provide substantially a Y-shaped channel therebetween, a pair of spaced apart lug portions arranged on one of said wing portions and extending outwardly therefrom, said wing portion having an aperture arranged therein between said lug portions communicating with said channel, a bail-like pull member having a pair of spaced-apart resilient leg portions, a transversely extending trunnion portion arranged on the end of each of said leg portions pivotally attached to the respective lug portions, a plate-like member extending between the leg portions of said pull member so as to bridge the same centrally thereof and having the marginal edges thereof curled around said opposed leg portions so as to maintain said leg portions in their proper spaced relation, an angularly arranged elongated yieldable locking tongue extending outwardly from the end of said plate-like member and disposed between said leg portions and extending between said lug portions, said locking tongue adapted to extend through said aperture and into said slider channel in one position of said pull member. 4

4. A slider for slide fasteners, as defined in claim 3, including a cam-like portion arranged on the outer side of each of said lug portions with which the leg portions of said pull member are adapted to co-operate, said cam-like portions adapted to move and maintain said pull member against the outer surface of said Wing substantially parallel thereto due to the resiliency of said leg portions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

